This July, owners of a $2.1 million condo at 200 Chambers St. filed suit against their allegedly chain-smoking neighbor, claming that smoke from next door was seeping into their apartment and causing all manner of olfactory and pulmonary unpleasantness. Now comes word from the plaintiff’s attorney, Victoria Kennedy, that the judge has denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss the suit. The ultimate winner (aside from fans of high-end real estate squabbling, of course) remains to be seen, but the fact that the judge is letting the trial proceed means secondhand smoke is now, Kennedy says, “a legally recognized cause of action.”

In other words, you might want to stuff a wet towel under your door the next time you light up inside.